First off, congratulations! Getting in your first farmer’s market or fair is an amazing feeling. You get to share your food with your community and earn an income. But every event, also comes with a ridiculous amount of planning. ● What will your display look like beyond a food truck wrap? ● How will you package your product? ● How much do I sell my product for at markets? ● How much product should I bring? ● How much change should I bring? ● Are you going to have any special deals for this event? ● When do I need [...]

Let’s get started with the basics. How to find your first farmer’s market. You probably know about every farmer’s market within a 50 ­mile radius of your house. Just in case you don’t, there’s a database to look all of them up called LocalHarvest.org. But, your best resource is going to be other food truck owners already selling at farmer’s markets. They know which ones you’ll do well at ­­ and hopefully they won’t convince you to do a market you won’t do well at! If you know a food producer (how could you not these days?), send them a [...]

See if this scenario sounds familiar. Your food truck or restaurant is humming along, riding high on the wave of seasonal summer business. You’re buying new equipment, making multiple deals with new distributors, expanding your product offerings. Maybe you’re toying around with some new menu ideas, thinking of ways to expand your base of customers, and buying all of those wish-list items that have been plaguing your kitchen and staff since the day you opened. Your credit cards are all paid off, your utility bills are all current, and you start thinking that maybe, just maybe, your fledgling business is [...]

A pig roast event is a great way to bring together family and friends for a festive celebration, or as part of a local celebration event for the whole town. Often centered on a certain event in the local calendar, such as a memorial day, these events can be popular in most towns across the country, with a particular popularity in the south, where it has been closely linked to BBQ events. Even George Washington attended a barbecue hog roast during his time, an event that was noted in his journal in 1769. Whatever type of event you are organizing, [...]

Deciding on the logo for your food truck may be one of the most important decisions any food truck owner can make. Any well-branded truck can draw a crowd, and the more it stands out the more people will come and look at it. And looking often leads to buying. Your logo is a huge part of branding for your business, and is usually a visual representation of your brand name. It can also show off the delicious delights that you are selling, and can attract people from afar, if it is noticeable enough. Ideally, your logo should showcase your [...]

Pricing is one of the most challenging parts of running a food business. The right price on the shelf (and in turn, to stores, distributors, and brokers) determines your success. You could sell very little of a premium product and a ton of a low-priced product. The challenge? You need to know where you fall. And the strategy that's going to get you there. It took me six months to decide I wanted to test my prices. One of my mentors kept nudging me. "Test your prices! What's the worst that could happen?" he'd ask me every month. I wouldn't do [...]

Can you install an air conditioner into the kitchen of a food truck? This is a frequently asked question we receive from prospective clients contacting our manufacturing center. The short answer is yes! You can get an air conditioner installed into a mobile kitchen. In fact, this is an extremely common feature in our builds. But here's the problem with air conditioning in a mobile kitchen. Air conditioning unit works great for prep work and cleanup. But once you turn on the cooking equipment and exhaust hood most of the cool air will get sucked out of unit. These are [...]

As the country moves toward reopening the economy, summer events are expected to gradually pickup. Even though we are likely months away from returning to normal, now is actually the perfect time to work on improving your business. One opportunity is to improve your pitch for lucrative catering clients. Most years the start of summer means a busy food truck schedule. That means produce lots of outdoor festivals and celebrations. If your schedule is anything like mine most years, it's jam-packed (pun intended) with events, shows, store demos - you name it, I'm doing it. Now is a great time [...]

Congrats! You've made a food product. Whether it's sauce, dip, brownie mix, or a beverage, it's a huge accomplishment to see your product hit the shelf on your local grocery store. But, it's hard to ignore one thing..... Your product is priced significantly higher than everything else on the shelf. There's several dollars between your national competitors - and maybe even other local companies. But, you think - "Well, it's got to be that high!" Yes, costs are always higher for small manufacturers. And even if big companies replicate your product they could still make it for less than you [...]

Pet services is an estimated $5.5 billion dollar industry with pockets of opportunity due to national lockdowns requiring people stay at home. If you're looking for a recession resistant mobile business opportunity this is one worth evaluating for 2020 and beyond. The Opportunity: As weeks of social distancing is turning into months, it's not just humans that need a trim. Pets are in need of a cut and clean as well. In the past, dog owners might head to the local Petco for their dog cut and cleaning. But why go out and put your pet's health at risk when [...]